Win No. 5 at the Rolex 24 at Daytona!

The 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona is over, and the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car series season is on its way! Qualifying on the pole was great and then to finish it off with a win -- pole to podium, and it was sweet. It was the busiest race that I can remember.

I typically drive 10 hours of the race, as I did this time, but somehow with the driver rotation it felt like I was always on deck. Of course, with the Telmex Riley-BMW handling so well, fast and consistent day and night, I was loving it. The Ganassi Racing boys never disappoint; they work hard and do it right, giving us their best all 24 hours. That worked out to 30-plus pit stops that included three brake changes, and they never made a mistake. What a team. My co-drivers -- Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Charlie Kimball -- all did a great job!

It’s been exciting for me to see the growth of the Rolex 24 as an event. Before the start there was an ocean of people on the grid, more than I have ever seen at that race. It felt and looked very similar to the start of the Indianapolis 500 to tell the you truth; man, was it was great seeing all the fans come out.

The green flag flew for the 51st Rolex 24 on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST, then it was time to race twice around the clock. Since I qualified the car, I started the race and drove the first three stints: roughly three hours. Next up in the rotation was Memo for two stints, JPM for three, then back to me for three more. All was going smoothly.

Darkness fell and I’m happy to say the car just got better. We had more grip with the cooler temperatures while maintaining the same chassis balance. What fun to drive. Next up was Memo for another two stints, Juan for another three, then it was Charlie’s turn. Charlie drove roughly 1 1/2 hours before yellows flew and it was time for Memo again, then Juan, and then back to me for another three.

Fog had rolled in heavy; you couldn’t see more than a few hundred feet in front of you. Yellows flew for safety. We rolled around under yellow for what had to have been two-plus hours, it was soup . . . Going from 195 mph to rolling around in the fog at 55 mph is no fun. Finally the sun broke through at roughly 8:30 am and we were back to racing.

The Telmex BMW was still running as strong as ever and I carved my way from fifth to first in three laps. I did another two stints, then turned the car back over to Memo for two stints. Memo had a great run and I climbed back in for two more stints, handing the car to JPM in first place to bring it home.

There were five cars on the lead lap, everyone working their strategy for fuel and pit stops, and it was a fight to the finish. We changed brakes, calculated and recalculated fuel numbers, as did the others. We knew the Michael Shank Racing’s No. 60 car had a good chance to make it to the finish with no stops, but we would need to get a splash of fuel, and we thought the No. 10 of Wayne Taylor Racing needed one as well. We needed a 50-second gap to complete our splash-and-go and stay out in front.

Juan drove it like he stole it and made great time. There could be no mistakes on the stop, and with only four laps remaining, we did the splash. The stop went flawlessly and we came out in second behind the No. 10 car, until it stopped for a splash and we were back in the lead. Victory was in our reach . . .

I hate sitting on the stand for the finish. I felt like I was going to puke! The white flag was out, one to go. Come on, baby, make it to the checkered . . . We were all standing on the wall just waiting to see the car come off of Daytona’s NASCAR turn four. There she is . . . checkered flag flies . . . winner, winner, chicken dinner . . . victory is ever so sweet! A great team effort, especially for the Rolex 24. For me, tying the legendary Hurley Haywood with five overall Daytona 24 Hour victories is an amazing accomplishment. WOW! The good Lord has certainly blessed me with this great career.

I need to give very special thanks to Telmex, BMW, team owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates, and Dinan. What a run. My wife and I celebrated with a bottle of our 2010 Taylors Reserve Syrah, yum. However, now it’s time to think about the next stop on the Grand-Am tour at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, March 1-2.

Follow me on twitter, @scottpruett01, and Like us on Facebook at pruettvineyard. And, of course, stay tuned to autoweekracing.com for my updates on the season as we gun for another series championship this year.

Editor’s note:Autoweek Editor at Speed Scott Pruett, 52, is one of North America’s most successful race-car drivers, with multiple wins and championships in karting, Trans-Am and Grand-Am racing, as well as victories in IMSA and CART, plus starts in NASCAR. He drives the No. 01 Telmex Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Riley-BMW in Grand-Am’s Rolex Sports Car Series, where he is the defending Daytona Prototype champion. Their win at the 2013 Grand-Am season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, along with co-drivers Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Charlie Kimball, means Pruett now has five Rolex 24 wins, tying him with Hurley Haywood for the all-time record.